Breed, Sow, Grow: Adventures and Challenges in Plant Breeding

Hello again! It's great to have you back for another post of our plant breeding series, 'Breed, Sow, Grow'! In our previous posts, we delved into generating phenotypic and genotypic data, creating a treasure trove of information – big data. With all that information ready, our trusty data scientists, bioinformaticians, and machine learning specialists navigated us through the process of making sense of the data. We're now ready to cultivate crop champions - fast. Buckle up for "Need for Speed: Accelerating Crop Breeding!"

 

Why the Need for Speed?

Foremost: because of climate change. For plant breeders, the fast and timely release of new varieties is crucial to address emerging challenges such as new pests, diseases, and environmental stresses like droughts or floods. By introducing varieties with enhanced resistance and/or resilience quickly, farmers can adapt - and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Rapid market entry also allows breeders to adjust quickly to evolving consumer preferences. But accelerating market release not only speeds up revenue generation in agriculture. It also ensures that developed traits remain technologically relevant and are aligned with the latest advancements in breeding methods.

 

Time and Success of Selection

For breeders, success is not only measured by sales numbers. It is also measured at a practical level – by the selection gain. Selection gain in plant breeding is the improvement in a population's average performance for a specific trait through the selection process - the genetic enhancement achieved. Selection gain in plant breeding depends on many factors. They include:

- Heritability of the trait. Heritability of a trait is a measure determining the influence of the genetic variation in a population on the variance of a trait across its individuals
- Phenotypic variation in the breeding population. This refers to the observable variation in the trait within the population.
- Selection intensity. It refers to how strictly breeders choose the best individuals for the next generation.
- Generation interval. This represents the time for one generation to replace another.

The concept of genetic gain in a population through selective breeding.
The graphic shows how it can shift the average performance of a population over time,
enhancing desirable traits.

 

Speed Breeding

Speed breeding presents an innovative approach to plant breeding, condensing the traditional breeding timeline and shortening the time to develop novel plant varieties. This method employs techniques to optimize plant growth and accelerate generational changes. It involves adapting quickly to novel field management processes, environmental impacts, and other challenges. Controlled environments such as greenhouse conditions (including elevated temperatures and extended photoperiods) foster accelerated plant growth and seamless generational transitions. Artificial lighting plays a central role. It extends the daylight cycle to stimulate plant growth, and facilitates the passage of multiple generations within a single year. Check out our Project LightSaver AI, where the AI will optimize light conditions to save energy efficiently, while simultaneously optimizing the plant's biomass gain.

By promoting early flowering and seed production, speed breeding shortens the time to the next generation. This enables breeders to rapidly assess traits in offspring and to accelerate selection. Additionally, the application of biotechnological methods, such as genetic engineering and marker-assisted selection, further speeds up the breeding process. In the context of climate change and a growing global population, speed breeding emerges as a promising method to rapidly advance plant breeding. It offers the potential to develop new varieties that better align with the needs of modern agriculture.

 

 AI-assisted Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)

New Technologies

To speed up plant breeding processes, scientists and plant breeders are integrating cutting-edge technologies and collaborative strategies. Genomic selection and marker-assisted breeding have revolutionized the identification and selection of plants with desired traits by leveraging molecular markers and advanced genomic tools.

• High-throughput phenotyping technologies enable rapid and accurate assessment of various plant traits, accelerating the selection of promising individuals.
• Genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 offer precise and efficient modification of specific genes, reducing the reliance on random mutations and time-consuming breeding methods.
• The integration of bioinformatics and data analysis facilitates the extraction of valuable insights from large datasets ('big data’), aiding in the identification of optimal breeding candidates.
• Collaboration and open data sharing among research institutions and breeders harness collective efforts. Accelerated generation turnover techniques and controlled environments shorten the time required for producing new generations of plants.
• Remote sensing, imaging technologies, and machine learning algorithms contribute to informed decision-making. The exploration of diverse germplasm and parallel breeding programs further enhances the overall efficiency of plant breeding endeavors.

This comprehensive and synergistic approach ensures that the breeding process is not only faster but also more precise and adaptable to today's challenges.

The Goal: Fast, Adaptable and Precise

Innovative technologies and collaborative strategies are reshaping the landscape of plant breeding. They enable breeders to overcome time constraints, optimize breeding timelines, and address pressing agricultural challenges. By integrating cutting-edge tools such as genomic selection, genome editing, high-throughput phenotyping, and machine learning, breeders can accelerate the pace of genetic improvement while ensuring precision and adaptability. Last but not least, collaborative efforts and data sharing foster collective innovation in crop breeding.


Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we will further explore selection intensity and the role of precision breeding!

If you missed any of our previous episodes, read them here:
S1E1 - Breeding Brilliance: Unveiling the Crop Superheroes
S1E2 - Genius Genes: Unlocking Genetic Diversity
S1E3 - Phenomenal Phenotyping: The Science of Collecting Data
S1E4 - Genotyping Galore: Crafting Crops From Genetic Blueprints
S1E5 - Data Drama: Breeding's Behind-the-Scenes

 

Do you want to know how Computomics can support plant breeding for the future?
Check out our Climate-Smart Breeding page or contact us!